Now Commenting On:

Dodgers Winter Meetings checklist

Dodgers Winter Meetings checklist

By Ken Gurnick
/
MLB.com |

With baseball's annual Winter Meetings set to start on Monday in Nashville, Tenn., most of the hints being dropped indicate the Dodgers will not overpay with money for a free agent or with prospects in a trade. However, there is pressure to keep the customers satisfied in the wake of aggressive moves by the Angels, who have already traded for right-hander Jon Garland and signed free-agent center fielder Torii Hunter.

To get your fix of Winter Meetings updates, check in with MLB.com and dodgers.com regularly. We'll bring you the news as it happens from Nashville.

Needs: Big bat (preferably at third base) and starting-pitching depth. The Dodgers have been looking for a middle-of-the-order bat since Adrian Beltre left. After Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley, the rotation is questionable with Esteban Loaiza and Jason Schmidt coming off injury-riddled seasons. After that on the list are utility infielder and backup catcher.

Dealing strengths: The organization's greatest depth is young talent, primarily in the infield with Andy LaRoche, Tony Abreu and Chin-lung Hu. The young players with high ceilings that appeal most to trade partners are outfielder Matt Kemp and 19-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.